Post-Match Thread and Ratings Northampton Town 2-1 Southend United

[Blueblues]

I know people think Moshni will be a star but I didn't realise we had already made a statue of him

 

[Magnum PI]

My views ... ratings

Morris - 7
Clohessy - 7
Barker - 7
Mohsni - 4
Gilbert - 5
Easton - 6
Grant - 8
Soares - 4
Simpson - 5
Hall - 6
Sturrock - 5

Not going to rate the subs

All I will say is that we havent got the legs
We should have got the lead and seen it out
very disappointing and no excuses in the next game

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

He scored yes, but it was the simplist of tap-ins, which was basically gift-wrapped and handed to him on a silver platter by their keeper.

The truth is, Sturrock still doesn't know his best strike force, and has to keep trying new things. The problem is, none of our strikers have stepped up to the mantle. They might have ability, but that is irrelevent if they're not producing, on the pitch and in front of goal.

Then you have to question; are they actually good enough?

- Paterson - shows great vision and nice touches but is reletively slow and as weak as a kitten
- Spencer - The paciest of the lot, but again quite weak and looks very ineffective 90% of the time
- Corr - battering ram up top, but won't score shedloads. Not a problem, as long as your team mates are scoring goals.
- Sturrock - Tries and tries, but not a goalscorer. Same boat as Corr, not a problem if others in the team are scoring, but when our goalscoring hopes are rested on their shoulders, are you overly confident?

Good post. I totally agree. Not a goalscorer amongst them to be honest.

 

[Rob Noxious]

Coughlan is the slowest man in living history and is very much prone to a foul. I can see him costing us goals and subsequent points if he is a regular in the starting XI

I can assure you that he isn't --- but he may be the second slowest.

 

[GBJ]

Up againts the speed of who? Northampton had absolutely nothing! Bilel had lost it, he should have been subbed.

I'm not pointing to yesterday as an example, instead i'm just suggesting that Coughlan could be more hinderence than help.

 

[GBJ]

I can assure you that he isn't --- but he may be the second slowest.

I honestly can't think of many slower to grace Roots Hall in a Blues shirt in my 15 years?

 

[MattLloyd]

I'm not pointing to yesterday as an example, instead i'm just suggesting that Coughlan could be more hinderence than help.

I'm not saying that Coughlan should play every game, just yesterday, Bilel had completely lost his head, his positioning was awful and he was running around like a headless chicken. Coughlan could have come on and settled things down.

Bilel is a talent, but he's been getting all the rave reviews and press, yesterday showed that he is a long way off the finished article, but his enthusisam and natural talent will I am sure show in the end.

 

[ShrimperChris]

I thought we were better than Northampton for the first hour without having to do very much. Should really have been 1-0 up at half time. After we scored a deserved goal we took the foot off the gas and let them back into the game. 3 points were there for the taking but we failed to capitalise.

Morris - 6, didn't have much to do but was rooted to his line for the winner in Darryl-esque fashion. Could have done better with the equaliser.

Clohessy - 7, fantastic cross for the goal and always an available outlet. Left exposed a lot but defended very well.
Moshni - 6, did some good things but at fault for the goals. Failed to clear the ball for the equaliser and didn't contest the header for the winner. Made some good tackles, some of which were harshly punished with freekicks, and won a fair amount in the air. Communication still seems to be a problem.
Barker - 7, solid and covered well when Moshni pushed up. Involved in the mix up for the equaliser.
Gilbert - 6, booed and abused at every touch but except a couple of rash challenges towards the end when everyone was getting frustrated coped admirably. Doesn't get forward much but solid enough distribution.

Easton - 6.5, solid but unspectacular. Distribution not as good as last time I saw him at Wolves, gave the ball away too much but won it back well.
Simpson - 6.5, a driving force through the middle but seemed to tire after the equaliser. Showed some invention with the ball trying to create something.
Grant - 8 MOTM, took his goal well and could have had another from a well struck shot from a free kick that drifted just wide. Covered an awful lot of ground and used the ball well.

Hall - 7, did a lot of good things but his final ball was inconsistent. Good running with the ball.
Soares - 5, not as much of an impact as Hall on the other wing. Drifted in and out of the game and contributed little.
Sturrock - 6, worked hard but things didn't always come off. Should have scored in the first half.

Corr - 5, off the pace and didn't win much in the air. When he came on we resorted to too many long balls.
Patterson - 6, worked hard and tracked back well. Made one particularly good tackle near the end covering on the left. Struggled to get involved up front though which is a shame. I think he and Sturrock up front in a 442 could work well.
Spencer - 5, anonomous when he came on. Had a chance to run directly at the defense with the ball at his feet but frustratingly went wide and the chance was gone.

Fans - 6, Nothing negative from the stands that I could hear from where I was but the fans were quite quiet, but not as much as the home fans. I'm sure Gilbert appreciated the support he got in response to the home fans taunts.

 

[tottenham541]

dont forget moshni did set up our goal as well, its not all bad.

 

[Jam_Man]

I'm not saying that Coughlan should play every game, just yesterday, Bilel had completely lost his head, his positioning was awful and he was running around like a headless chicken. Coughlan could have come on and settled things down.

Bilel is a talent, but he's been getting all the rave reviews and press, yesterday showed that he is a long way off the finished article, but his enthusisam and natural talent will I am sure show in the end.

I did say from the first couple of friendlies he played that he looks good at times but does make some big errors.

We cant expect the finished article and he has a lot of potential.

I see the logic in bringing coughlan on, but the flip side is what it does to Bilels confidence.

 

[TravellingBlue]

I did say from the first couple of friendlies he played that he looks good at times but does make some big errors.

We cant expect the finished article and he has a lot of potential.

I see the logic in bringing coughlan on, but the flip side is what it does to Bilels confidence.

Bilel showed the same poor professionalism yesterday that he showed pre-season against Salisbury City! Made a couple of poor mistakes, got involved and started to lose the plot. Sturrock at Salisbury brought him on with half an hour to go, and then subbed him with ten minutes to go before he got sent off or made another bad mistake!

I think Bilel has a strong character and would have accepted it if Sturrock had subbed him yesterday he really was having a shocker!

 

[RobM]

Everyone 0/10 That's why they're at a League 2 club in crisis. It's not tricky, is it?

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Morris 6

Clohessy 7
Barker 7
Mohsni 5
Gilbert 6

Hall 6
Easton 7
Grant 8
Simpson 6
Soares 5

Sturrock 5

Subs:
Corr 5
Spencer 5
Paterson 5

 

[tangerine dream]

Coughlan is the slowest man in living history and is very much prone to a foul. I can see him costing us goals and subsequent points if he is a regular in the starting XI

Remember seeing Coughlan in his younger days playing for Livingston where he wasn't the quickest.He did read the game well though(in my opinion !).Being slow hasn't stopped Terry,Carragher,Dunne,Vidic from having good careers.It's not all about pace.

 

[Jam_Man]

Everyone 0/10 That's why they're at a League 2 club in crisis. It's not tricky, is it?

Well they did alright the last few games, and by beating Championship Bristol City and getting a few seconds from taking a premiership side to penalties.

Still we lost a game, lets sod perspective!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Definitely agree that we definitely lost this game because of our lack of a 20 goal a season striker and our defeat had definitely nothing to do with us conceding two goals and being unable to defend a lead.

Obviously the only sane response to conceding two goals is to demand that we sign a forward.

 

[* ORM *]

Definitely agree that we definitely lost this game because of our lack of a 20 goal a season striker and our defeat had definitely nothing to do with us conceding two goals and being unable to defend a lead.

Obviously the only sane response to conceding two goals is to demand that we sign a forward.

Or alternatively you could say that (by all accounts) we were unable to put the game beyond Northampton's reach when 3 points were clearly there for the taking.

 

[Pubey]

saw the highlights, dreadful defending for their goals.

 

[* ORM *]

Not the end of the world though. We're still higher up the table and shown more promise than I anticipated some weeks back.

 

[Beefy]

Bilel : 5 Not a great game from him today. Poor distribution and looked an accident waiting to happen. Was involved in both goals and we nearly conceded a third due to his static defending. It looked like he was clearly fouled for the second . There player had both hands all over him and climbed on him.

Not a foul, for me. Their guy and Moshni were matched up at corners at both ends and pretty much every one their guy wanted more and therefore won the header. Bilel obviously felt he was being fouled a lot but he's going to need to get used to the physicality of English football, especially at this level.

I've been discussing the proper striker subject from the first week of the season. Nobody can change my mind on Blair Sturrock, only Blair Sturrock if a miracle happens. Away from home, a backs to goal striker is only good if you are protecting a lead. You need someone with pace to attack and run at the defenders and get in behind them, and of course, a better finisher. Listening on the radio today, Northampton were there for the taking, for 60 minutes they were terrible at the back. and yet you still wouldn't back Sturrock to score. Paul Clarke said that someone up there with pace would have a field day, as their centre of defence was so slow.

A 'backs to goal' striker is there to help us keep position high up the pitch, which you especially need to do away from home. If you play a pacey striker in that position then yes you may well catch some slow, lumbering League Two centre-halves out a few times per match but you'll also be constantly giving possession up to the opposition.

I completely agree with you that Sturrock isn't going to score the goals for us. That's obvious. But it's a formation problem firstly. Goal-scoring targetmen are almost as rare as a Freddy Eastwood or Lee Barnard is.